Induced Terminations of Pregnancy

The Texas Abortion Facility Reporting and Licensing Act, Health and Safety Code, Chapter 245, mandates that each abortion facility in the state must submit an annual report to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) on each abortion that is performed at the facility. Neither patient nor physician performing the abortion may be identified in this report. These reports are confidential and are not considered open records.

Data provided to DSHS as part of this Act include: 1) patient's year of birth, race, marital status, and state and county of residence; 2) type of abortion procedure; 3) date the abortion was performed; 4) period of gestation at the time of the procedure; 5) date of the patient's last menstrual cycle; 6) number of previous live births; 7) number of previous induced abortions; 8) whether the patient survived the procedure and, if not, the cause of death.

The report is submitted on a form provided by the Vital Statistics Unit. The Vital Statistics Unit has been involved in the collection of these data since 1990.

Requests for more specific information than that contained in this report should be directed to the Center for Health Statistics, DSHS.

In 2004, a total of 75,053 induced abortions were reported to DSHS. This number includes all induced abortions performed in Texas plus those obtained in other states by Texas residents. There were 4,113 less induced terminations of pregnancy (abortions) reported to DSHS in 2004 than in 2003. The total number of induced abortions reported to DSHS in 2004 decreased by 5.2 percent (there were 79,166 in 2003). Texas residents obtained 72,441 (96.5 percent) of the total abortions reported.

The abortion rate, the abortion ratio and the percent of pregnancies resulting in induced abortion have decreased in 2004. The abortion rate, the total number of induced abortions among Texas residents of all ages per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years, was 14.6 in 2004 compared to 15.4 in 2003. The abortion ratio, the total number of induced abortions among Texas residents per 1,000 live births, was 189.9 in 2004 down from 201.4 in 2003. In 2004, 15.9 percent of all reported pregnancies among Texas residents resulted in induced abortions compared to 16.7 percent in 2003. (Reported pregnancies equals the sum of reported live births, fetal deaths and induced abortions.)

Age, Race/Ethnicity & Marital Status

Of Texas resident women with a reported age who obtained an abortion in 2004, 59.2 percent were 20-29 years. Approximately 12.8 percent of abortions were obtained by women 16-19 years of age, while only 0.9 percent of abortions were obtained by teens 15 years of age or younger. The mean age of Texas residents who obtained abortions in 2004 was 26 years, and the age at which the greatest number of abortions were performed was 22 years.

Among Texas residents with reported race information, 35.1 percent of abortions were obtained by white women, 23.1 percent by black women, 37.0 percent by Hispanic women, 4.8 percent by women of other racial/ethnic groups. In comparison, the 2004 Texas female population 15 to 44 years of age was 45.6 percent white, 12.5 percent black, 37.7 percent Hispanic, and 4.3 percent other racial/ethnic groups.

Approximately 19.7 percent of Texas resident abortions were obtained by married women. Black women obtaining abortions were the least likely to be married. Hispanic women were slightly more likely to be married than white women, and Asian women were the most likely to be married of all racial/ethnic groups.

Gestation, Facility & Procedure

Of those for whom information was available, more than half (68.7 percent) of all abortions among Texas residents occurred at 8 or fewer weeks gestation, and more than three-fourths (84.4 percent) were performed at 10 weeks gestation or earlier. Only 0.6 percent of Texas resident abortions were performed at 17 weeks gestation or later, and only 0.2 percent were performed at 21 or more weeks gestation. The vast majority, 98.8 percent of resident abortions, were performed in abortion clinics. The remainder were performed in physicians' offices, hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers and out-of-state facilities. Suction Curettage was the most common abortion procedure (80.6 percent of Texas resident abortions) followed by medical-non surgical (12.3 percent) and dilation and evacuation (6.9 percent).

Previous Pregnancies

In 2004, 56.1 percent of Texas residents who obtained abortions underwent their first abortion, 27.7 percent had one prior abortion, 10.5 percent had two prior abortions and 5.7 percent had three or more previous abortions.

Almost 38.7 percent of Texas resident abortions occurred among women who had not had any live births, 27.7 percent had one live birth, 21.1 percent had two live births and 12.5 percent had three or more live births.

Notes

Percentages reported in this narration do not include unknowns in the denominator. See Table 33 for counts on data reported as "Not Stated."